Delicate
by BeccaBreaksThings
Summary: Moving to La Push following a tragic year, Gene wants nothing more than peace and self-punishment. A sudden encounter with a certain shapeshifter threatens to change everything she knows - but imprints aren't set in stone, right? Follow them through struggle, heartbreak, grief and depression as the two battle for life, love, and everything in between. Seth/OC
1. Chapter 1

When I made it past the city limits sign, everything changed. I'd heard from a friend who visited once that Forks was a less than special place, but she'd been lying. It took me less than thirty seconds to decide that it was exactly where I belonged – miserable weather, miserable people, hell, even the trees looked miserable. I was home.

With my bag slung over my shoulder, I breathed in the damp post-rain air and managed the closest thing to a smile I had since it happened. Both the walking and hitch-hiking I had done over the past few days to make it to my destination had drained me to the point where every step was a nightmare. My lungs hurt; my back hurt; my feet burned; but I wouldn't stop just yet, there was still a little while to go.

There were a grand total of three cars that passed me as I made it closer to what looked to be the social centre of Forks – there were a few groups of people walking and talking together, and even a young mother pushing her pram carefully around a corner. Aside from moss and shed leaves, the town around me was eerily clean. Clean enough to be clinical, even.

"Excuse me," I muttered, tapping a thirty-something woman on her shoulder. I turned the collar of my jacket up against the cold and the awful feeling of wet hair curling at the back of my neck. "Could you tell me how to get to La Push?"

She turned to face me – kind green eyes and a warm mother's smile taking in my dishevelled appearance with minimal disgust. "You're walking there?"

"I, uh..." I coughed and shook my head. The lie that followed was easy as pie. "I just parked my car, got out to get some decent directions. Terrible with a map, you see."

"You're sure?" The woman's smile faltered for a fraction of a second and she looked from side to side as though searching for something. Probably a husband, I figured, but I wouldn't say anything until she answered my question. Talking felt wrong to me – I'd avoid doing it unnecessarily as best I could. Instead I nodded.

"Well." She brushed off her coat with manicured fingers. "I'm afraid I can't give better instruction than 'keep going until you find the beach.'"

I sighed and let my eyes slip shut to mask my disappointment. "It's fine," I told her. "I can figure it out." Just as I brushed past her to be on my less-than-merry way, she called out to me.

"Wait!"

I stopped but didn't bother turning. "Yes?"

"I can, uh, give you a ride if you'd like. It's no trouble, I think I have an errand to run that way, anyway." She was a terrible liar, her voice high with uncertainty and shaky with nerves. "Save you the walk."

It took me a moment to swallow my pride and force a grateful smile. "That would be great, ma'am."

Between us we found my new lodgings in under an hour. I'd made contact with an elderly man interested in letting his spare room some days before when a friend had referred me, and the two of us had struck a deal that I could stay for minimal rent and help around the house. While my every instinct told me to be wary of strangers – especially going to live with an unknown man – I couldn't bring myself to care. Self preservation was low on my list.

The woman didn't bother to give me her name, and I didn't give her mine, but we parted on almost friendly terms. She shook my hand and wished me luck prior to ushering me out of her car and heading straight on down the narrow residential road I would be living on.

My new home, as it turned out, was two storeys and aesthetically pleasing in the same green-and-clean way of everything else around me. I didn't waste any time bringing my fist down thrice on the door.

Just as I was about to knock again, the sound of bolts sliding and a lock clicking alerted me to a presence on the other side. I stood back just in time for the door to be pulled open and a withered old man to step out and greet me. His skin was a russet colour and his hair salt-and-pepper streaked, though there was something far younger behind knowing brown eyes. "Genevieve?"

"It's Gene," I was quick to correct, holding out my hand for him to shake. "Just Gene. Mr. Aki, right?"

The man nodded, long hair swaying with the motion. He watched me long and steady before he seemed to accept that I wasn't lying, and so stepped back to allow me entrance into a home whose décor was outdated and smelled faintly of damp. The door shut behind me and was meticulously locked by Mr. Aki.

"When one of us is home," he said. "The bolts should stay locked. Don't let anybody inside unless I tell you to."

I wrinkled my nose in annoyance but ultimately chose not to argue – it wasn't as though I'd come to the remote reservation to make friends and party hard. All I wanted was a roof over my head and a place where I could safely say I didn't know a single soul. Solitude was bliss in my eyes.

"I have a list of rules for you," Mr. Aki continued. His face beheld a certain seriousness that put me at risk of actually liking him, and he spoke so plainly I barely had to think  
to listen. "And your room is upstairs, first door on the left. As for everything else, I'm sure you'll find it."

"Right." I nodded, waiting as he leafed through a pile of papers to come up with a small and crumpled list and a key. He pressed them into my hand and I glanced the list once over. There was nothing unreasonable – the only thing which bothered me was the mention of a curfew. I enjoyed taking walks at night to calm myself, and that would be difficult if I had to return to a locked door and wake up Mr. Aki to get inside. I wouldn't say anything to him unless it became absolutely necessary – should worst come to it, I was sure I'd manage to stay out until he woke up.

"And," Mr. Aki said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You might have to run errands for me at times. I have trouble getting about these days."

I forced a smile and nodded my acceptance. "That's fine, sir," I said. "Thanks for letting me stay here."

He didn't smile back, just remained impassive and waved me off. "You should change before you catch cold."

The sudden change of topic caught me off guard enough that my next smile was genuine, hell, I even managed a moment of laughter. "Yes, sir." I nodded. "First door on the left, right?"

Mr. Aki didn't stay to answer me, just trundled off into another room and left me to figure things out on my own. I shrugged and headed up the stairs and into what was to be my room. It was minimally furnished with only a single bed by the window and a tiny closet inside, and I liked it immensely.

I dropped my bag on the bed and stripped out of my damp clothes, tugging free a relatively clean pair of jeans and a thick woollen jumper which better fit the weather. My hair was almost dry and impossibly tangled, so I tried to drag a brush through the white-blonde locks with disastrous results. By the time I was finished, it felt as though there was more hair on the bristles than there was left on my head.

Vanity aside, I took a moment to let everything around me sink in. I was in a new place states away from anyone I knew, hiding away in a stranger's home, and the world looked just as miserable as I was feeling. Uncomfortable warmth welled up behind my eyes and a sob caught in my throat – everything hurt all of a sudden.

My hand snaked into my half-empty bag and grappled for my vice, the one picture I had left. Her grey eyes, so similar to mine, stared up at me from a time long gone. She looked so happy, so young and full of life that, for a moment, I could almost believe she was there with me.

She wasn't.

I was alone, and I would have to live with that fact for the rest of my life.

God, I missed her.

It took me all of an hour to lose myself in the dark, and I loved it. When night had fallen and I'd managed to get a handle of myself, I'd dismissed myself from Mr. Aki's and taken my first leap into the real unknown. I had to get out on my own for a while.

There was such peace on the reservation that I almost felt like I was somewhere else entirely. It reminded me distantly of the place I'd grown up in, all remote and wonderful, especially when I found the trees.

Green and brown crunched beneath my feet, a mixture of fallen twigs and leaves from the vast expanse of trees above. The sounds of animals in the night echoed all around me to the point where it was impossible not to be just a little paranoid. Paranoia was good, though, it was helpful in more ways than one.

"Wonder if this is what heaven looks like." I bit my lip and tugged down the sleeves of my jumper to cover my hands. "Seems awfully close."

The sound of my voice above near-silence was disconcerting at best, though I ignored as something caught my eye. Thick branches low to the ground, a trunk reaching high enough to give me great vantage – my dream tree. I _had _to climb it, to feel the freedom of being far enough above ground that I didn't have to care any more.

Climbing the tree was easier said than done – it was my first time, after all – but only three falls later and I was perched on one of the mid-height branches, legs swinging beneath me. The world looked so different from that angle, skewed from a giant's perspective into some dark beyond I could have ruled over.

I closed my eyes and leaned back a little.

"Hey!" a man's voice called from afar, startling me until I almost lost my balance. My hands, wrapped around the branch to either side of me, kept me in graciously in place.

"Hey!"

Gritting my teeth, I shimmied closer to the trunk to disguise myself from view lest I have  
attracted some kind of madman. With my luck, the idea didn't seem so far fetched. Looking down I couldn't see anything, but there were what sounded like multiple people's footsteps fast approaching my tree.

"Hey, everything okay up there?" a second man's voice joined the yelling. They both sounded so similar, accented in the same way Mr. Aki's was, only there was something off about the second.

I sighed and leant heavily against the trunk. It didn't sound like they were going to give up any time soon – I wouldn't risk them climbing up to find me. "Are you talking to me?"

"If you're up there, yeah," said the first. They were finally in my line of sight, though I couldn't figure much other than they were tall, and maybe dark.

"I'm up here," I said, "and I'm fine, too."

"What're you doing, then?"

"Climbing." I shook my head. "Isn't that allowed?"

"It's a little..." The speaker stopped and took a few steps back, trying to get a look at me through the obscuring leaves and branches. "Hey, could you come down so we can talk?"

"Do I need to?" My throat was already feeling sore just with the possibility that I'd have to talk to them. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I hoped they were the crazed killer kind – it was much easier to imagine myself gutted like a fish than caught in conversation.

The second figure stepped back, too. "It'll only take a sec, then we'll leave you alone."

"Is that a promise?"

"Sure."

"Fine. Just... just wait there."


	2. Chapter 2

Knowing there were two strange men watching me didn't help my nerves as I took a deep breath and started a careful descent from my perch. My legs were shaking all the while, and the only thing I think that kept me from falling was sheer willpower – though I came close to losing even that several times.

In their defence, they were polite enough to keep quiet and not laugh as I wobbled and wriggled my way down. One of them started to ask if I needed help, but I near screamed no as the first word left his mouth. I would not be weak.

Not weak, she said to herself as she slipped behind the mammoth trunk to hide. Ha, ten points for ironic thinking. Go me.

Biting down on my lip hard enough to draw sharp copper blood, I peeked around my shield to try and get a good look at them. One was clear in my line of sight – tall, muscular, with a pinched expression that made me think I'd ruined his entire night, at most he had to be around twenty-five. The other, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm down now," I said. Clever me. "What is it you want to talk to me about? I don't have any money, if that's it."

Laughter, barked and rough on one account, genuinely amused on the other. I wasn't able to make the distinction between them as pesky Number Two had vanished into thin air in all but sound.

"You okay?" Number One asked, side-stepping to try and get a better look at me. "What were you doing up there?"

I groaned and dropped back behind the trunk, pressing my hands into my eyes. "Does it matter? I was just climbing – regular tree climbing, pretty common."

"At night?"

"I'm nocturnal." I dropped my hands back down to my sides, hunching in on myself to keep away the growing cold of the night. It probably would have been a good idea to wear a coat and not just the hole-filled jumper I'd thrown on. Dressing for the weather would never be my forte. "Now, is that all?"

Crunching behind me. A hand on my shoulder, impossibly warm against my icy skin. I didn't think, just reacted, and turned with my hand raised and ready to strike – should have seen through the nice guy routine, my fault for being so naïve.

Just as my coiled fist collided with a firm chest, the world around me felt like it was shifting, morphing into a vast unknown. His eyes were dark and locked on mine with such ferocity I couldn't pull myself away. The hand which had struck his chest was suddenly caught in one big, rough hand holding it a careful distance away from him.

"Huh?" I mumbled, dumbfounded. He was much taller than me, though that didn't take much, and gangly in comparison to his stocky conspirator. There was just something about that particular stranger that I couldn't put my finger on. It was almost like feeling alive again.

"Hey!" Number One called, both concern and surprise colouring his voice. He wasted no time in crossing the short space between us, wedging himself between me and Number Two. The man put a hand on his friend's shoulder and shook him to try and rouse him from his stupor. It was just enough distraction that I was able to snap back to myself and dart backwards, pressing my back against the rough tree bark.

I could move, I could breathe, I could think, but I couldn't take my eyes off him – I was prisoner in my own traitorous body. It didn't help things that he was just as stuck as I was, only Number One was trying his hardest to stop whatever was happening.

"Hey, Seth," he said and slapped his open palm lightly against the young man's cheek. "You okay?"

It was a long and painful minute before Seth shook his head and let out a deep breath. He glanced at me once then switched his focus to Number One. "Quil," he muttered through gritted teeth. "I..."

Quil nodded and clapped him on the shoulder, chuckling his relief. "Yeah, I know."

Their brief slip into conversation was all it took for me to wake, and then only a second more before I bolted. Boots crunched on twigs as my feet pounded the forest floor, my hands slightly outstretched to shove away any wayward branches that would obstruct my path to freedom. I had no idea where I was going, what I was doing, only that I had to get _free. _I needed time to _think, _to collect my thoughts and my dignity before I became some babbling shell of my former self. The more distance I put between us, the clearer my thoughts were.

The cold air whipping against my cheeks was a relief, stinging in the most pleasant of ways – much better than crying and self-pity. I could hear voices behind me, bellows of 'hey, you!' and 'wait up!' that I refused to listen to. Whatever the dark-eyed man, whatever _Seth_ wanted was nothing to do with me. Far as I knew, they'd perfected some kind of visual date-rape drug and I was just another victim.

They were advancing, and fast. I could hear that much over the thudding of my heart and the shallow, desperate pants for oxygen. If only I'd been a runner in high school, then maybe I'd stand a better chance. With my grand total of zero physical skills, I was doomed from the start.

"Just wait a second!" the first of them, Quil, said. He'd made it close enough that I could see him in the periphery of my vision. "Please, just, it's important."

I slowed to a stop on the grounds that trying to run would kill me before I lost them. My hands went to my knees as I doubled over, gasping for breath. "What... what do you want from me?"

Quil sucked in one deep breath and then he was fine, like he hadn't just chased a stranger through the woods at all. I envied him right up until he spoke, "This is going to sound crazy, but-"

"If it's going to sound crazy," I interrupted him sharply, straightening up to give my best fearless-and-ass-kicking impression. Chest puffed out, hands on hips, I was sure I must have been terrifying. "Don't say it."

"But it's important."

"Then spit it out." I narrowed my eyes into slits, focused on the space between his thick brows. Aside from our breathing, there were no other sounds nearby, which meant either Seth had gotten himself lost or he'd given up. Either were fine for me, but thinking about it brought a sharp pain to my chest. I clutched at the wool resting over my heart, balling my hand into a tight fist as though it would stop the ache.

Quil's eyes flickered to that hand and he smiled a little, his posture relaxing considerably. Shoulders slumped, boyish delight in dark eyes that shoved my age estimation down the drain – he appeared only a year or two older than my nineteen that way. "Damn," he muttered. "The kid was right."

"Right about what?" I was already taking slow steps back, forcing myself to ignore the pain in my chest. If it was a heart attack, let it have me. The way my night was headed, I was happy to just let it roll.

"You're gonna think this sounds crazy," he said, chuckling.

"I don't have all night." I clenched my jaw to control the shivers I felt oncoming. How those guys could be shirtless in that weather was beyond human comprehension, though the least of my worries. Hell, why I was still standing there was hard enough to figure out.

"I, uh..." Quil grinned at me, all teeth and gums, and ran a hand through his short hair. "Actually, I don't think I should be the one to tell you. Tricky subject, y'know?"

"Then don't," I snapped, turning to stalk away. "Doesn't matter to me either way. I'm cold, I'm pissed off, and I have places to be."

"Whoa." He held up his hands in surrender. A pensive look crossed his face for a second and he nodded to himself. "You live around here?"

I made no effort to nod, dismissing the question as another thing I didn't need just then.

Quil whistled lowly and shoved his hands into the pockets of what looked like makeshift jeans-shorts. "You know what?" he said, looking over my shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Have a nice night."

"Ha." I shook my head and pushed past him, ignoring the voices I could hear carried on the wind as I made my careful way back what I hoped was the way I'd come. There were at least four of them – two recognisable as the ones who had caught me in my tree – but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I was, thankfully, too far away for that.

Head down, anxiety up, I weaved back through the trees. They had lost a lot of their magic in the short time I'd been there, morphed from natural wonders to glorified stalks in the wake of a strange night's walk. Just as I made it back to level road, I was struck by another of the odd pains in my chest. This one was more constant, a heavy ache that spread slowly down my arms and to my hands, yet, when I took a step back, it lessened.

"What the..." I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming, wincing when my sharp nails caught a scrap of skin between them. Definitely awake and definitely insane. Distantly, I wondered what Mr. Aki might say if I mentioned it – would he want me gone so soon, or could I join him in padlocked paranoia? We'd be great together.

Ignoring my mystery ache, I pooled all my efforts into finding the way back to Mr. Aki's place. He'd mentioned something about a back door, so I was glad to think I might slip back inside without his notice. Upsetting my house-mate on the first day was far from anything on my wish list.

It didn't take me long to find the door, it was only a matter of hoisting myself up enough to flick the latch on a gate and slipping out around the back. As he'd instructed, I made sure everything was locked behind me – for the old man's sake, I double checked the front and all windows I could find, too.

To my surprise – and, admittedly, alarm – I found him awake and waiting for me by the door to my room. His expression was not unkind as he held out a cup of lukewarm tea for me to take. "Here," he said, pressing it into my cold hands. "It'll make you feel better."

I cringed and avoided eye contact, cursing under my breath. It was well past his designated bedtime. "Thanks, uh... Look," I muttered, doing my utmost to feign an apologetic smile on stiff lips. "I'm sorry if I woke you. It just took me a while to-"

Mr. Aki held up a hand to stop me. "I was having trouble sleeping."

"If that's my fault, I can go," I offered and took a sip of the tea. It was pleasant, while unlike anything I'd tasted before – he was right, even a single sip lessened the ache in my chest. "I'll find somewhere else, it's not a problem."

He shook his head and gestured for me to drink more, unsmiling. "That won't be necessary. You should learn to be more discrete."

"Excuse me?" I blinked slow in shock, gulping to reduce my chances of a comic spit-take. "What do you mean, sir?"

Mr. Aki tapped the wall beside my door. "These are thin, sound carries."

"Oh." My cheeks flushed red as I realised what he was getting at – the poor soul had to listen to my pathetic crying fit. "Shit, I'm-"

"Language like that won't be tolerated under my roof."

I sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry. On both accounts. If it's okay, I'm tired and I'd like to get some sleep now," I said, watching to get a better judge of his character. He didn't react other than a nod and opening my door for me.

"Thanks," I said, clutching my mug protectively close. "Goodnight, sir."

Mr. Aki nodded, pulling the door closed once I was clear of it. Through the wood he said, "It gets better."

Manic laughter carried me into slumber that night.


	3. Chapter 3

When I woke, my eyes were so sore it took me ten minutes to gather the courage to open them. The light filtering through the blinds on my window was dull, almost dusky, and I cursed beneath my breath. How badly had I overslept? Usually it was around noon when I managed to drag myself out of bed, but in the days leading up to my grand adventure things had gotten worse. It was only being on the road so long which had tricked me into thinking I had an almost normal routine.

I forced myself into a hot, soapy shower, mumbling obscenities all the while. Wrapped in a thick, somewhat coarse towel, I darted back through to my room before anyone might catch me in a state of undress. My body was one of the few things I was incredibly conscious of – I knew every lump, every bump, every scar, and I hated them all. I'd die before letting anybody see so much _me_.

Quick as I could, I yanked on my last pair of clean jeans and a plain black blouse two sizes too big – just how I liked it, that way I could be almost androgynous. Hair pulled back into a braid, photo in my pocket, feet jammed into my sturdy boots, I felt ready enough to face the world. Well, Mr. Aki at least.

As luck would have it, he was nowhere to be found. There was a note on the kitchen table which read 'gone fishing' and nothing more, as well as a list of instructions for what he wanted me to do while he was gone. It was a pretty simple list, just loading the dishwasher, making sure the floors were clean enough, and running some laundry through the washer. I took the last as an opportunity to freshen up my meagre clothes supply, even stretching to using Mr. Aki's fancy dryer and folding them neat as I could. Within two hours I was done, free, and fed on sandwich and a salad I fixed while waiting for the clothes.

The prospect of going out again made my stomach churn in anxiety, yet I couldn't bring myself not to. There was some driving force, an unidentifiable _something _which forced me out the door that evening – I _had _to follow that feeling. The thought of ignoring it all and heading back upstairs made me dizzy with despair.

It was a lot warmer than it had been the previous night, refreshingly so when there was only a gentle breeze to counteract the feeling of having stepped into bathwater. My first instinct was to get to the beach, to go and familiarise myself with sand and water in the hopes that maybe I could become a fish and disappear into the vast ocean. Lack of gills wasn't the only flaw in my plan.

The streets were mostly empty, with the only exception being a group of young boys shepherded along by smiling mothers who 'oohed' and 'aahed' over every cycling achievement afforded by the flat ground.

I took great care to sidestep my way to freedom, wishing I'd donned something with a hood to help with the eye contact problem. Whatever it was about most pedestrians that inclined them to smile and lock eyes with any and all who passed needed to be fixed. No way was that amount of friendliness natural. Not any more.

My hands curled into fists at my sides, nails biting into the soft skin of my palms. I took it graciously with only the slightest hiss of discomfort. The feeling was strange – a distraction from the painful ache that had settled like a blanket over me, a _release. _God, how I needed one of those just then.

Finding First Beach was much easier than I'd anticipated and I made it there in what must have been record time. Compared to the streets and roads I'd taken to get there, the beach was a real social hot spot. There were at least six, maybe more, figures on the horizon all sitting close together. Another two were standing in water midway up their legs. From my distance I couldn't discern gender, which I counted a blessing for the pure and simple fact it stopped me from glaring so bad. Couples made my blood boil.

Instead I sought solitude and clarity in the other direction, my boots leaving tracks in the damp sand as I swerved closer and closer to the water. By the time it was lapping at my heels I felt it. The ache had returned and I tried unsuccessfully to dull it with more pressure from my nails, drawing blood to make my palms feel clammy like it was my first day of school all over again.

"Shit," I muttered, crouching in the sand lest I cause a scene with sudden collapse. Last thing I thought I wanted was attention – especially if it wasn't medical. The shift in position helped a little, it gave me something better to focus on as salt water seeped through the knees of my jeans and irritated old grazes there.

Pain thudded so loud in my head I had to bite down on my tongue to prevent myself screaming, and then it was gone. Something was up, something I couldn't explain with any of that high school biology. Unsurprisingly, the algebra didn't help either. Figures.

Legs clad in jeans older than mine and a pair of shoes hardly worth saving came into my line of sight, seconds later joined by a torso as it dropped to my level. Dark hands planted themselves roughly shoulder width apart in a quick endeavour for balance. "You're okay?" said a voice concerned beyond anything I had heard in years, maybe forever.

It gave me sick, inexplicable thrill to realise I could recognise it as Seth, the young man from last night's escapades. I wouldn't speak to him, much as my traitor tongue might have wanted me to just then. I nodded and kept my eyes on his splayed fingers. They were nice fingers, if a little stumpy. The kind you'd never see man an instrument with anything less than disastrous effects. His loss, though he didn't look much like a musician anyway. More of the carpenter type, or perhaps some kind of law enforcement.

Seth's voice interrupted my curiosity, brimming with infectious eagerness. "You never gave me your name."

"You didn't ask," I replied curtly, swallowing my idiocy and forcing a split second of eye contact. That was all it took for the strangest feeling to overcome me – a completeness I could never put into words.

"Mine's Seth, if it helps." He grinned and held out one of his sandy hands, watching me with puppy-dog eyes until I relented and shook once. Rough, warm, definitely the hands of a manual labourer.

I shrugged and dropped my raised knee to the sand to give my balance a helping hand. "Gene," I said, rubbing both hands over my thighs to wipe away some of the grit. "A pleasure."

"It is?" Seth's grin stretched wider, wide enough that he'd split his cheeks if he wasn't careful about it.

"Mm." I shrugged again and returned to staring into the sand. While it wasn't nearly as pretty – wrong word. Magnetic, maybe? - as he was, it was a safe middle ground until I worked out what the hell was going on. Visually transmitted drugs were still, unfortunately, my best guess. Scientists everywhere would be envious.

Even if I wasn't looking at him, I could feel the opposite was true of my newest _friend. _It felt like being the centre of some exotic zoo exhibit, yet not as uncomfortable as I thought it should have been. I should have been running, screaming, anything but sitting complacent on the ground. Hell, he and his friend had all but stalked me the night before – so why wasn't I scared? Frustration was the strongest emotion I felt, and I knew it wasn't directed at him.

There was a shift of fabric and body parts as Seth sat himself squarely in the wet sand without a care for either his clothes or his health. "So you new around here?" he asked. "Haven't seen you before, and you don't look like you're from around here."

I nodded in silence, content to leave it at that until my mouth decided otherwise and spoke against my will. "Just got here yesterday – came a long way. England originally, Salem more recently."

Seth nodded eagerly, looking from me to something over my shoulder as he said, "You wanna take a walk? Some pretty cool stuff around here I could show you, like the cliff, and, uh... Yeah." He ran a hand through his short hair and laughed.

The ghost of a laugh bubbled at my lips. In all my imagining of what I'd find in La Push, overt friendliness had never crossed my mind – blame it on pessimism or years of bad luck, I set my expectations pleasantly low. Even more unexpected was the feeling, the compulsion, that I _had _to go with Seth. Not taking him up on his offer sent waves of discomfort through me.

Playing it cool to buy myself time, I snorted and said, "Just a cliff? Think I can see it from here."

"You got me." Seth laughed. "But it looks better up close. Or, if you want, we could try the woods or something. Looked like you liked it."

There was a tingly feeling in the tips of my fingers when he reached out towards me, and I recoiled in an instant. I stood and brushed myself off, glancing at the gangly man in the sand from under loosened tendrils of blonde. Something like hurt crossed his face before it returned to its youthful grin. Looking at him, he couldn't have been much older than I was. It was a small comfort to think I could outwit him as an attacker if he really was juvenile.

"I'll come," I said. "Wherever you want to take me, on one condition."

"Sure!" Seth brightened up and stood beside me. "What is it?"

I laughed dryly, watching his face with care. "When you dump my body, leave it with a 'donate for medical research' tag attached – wouldn't want it to go to waste."

"I'm not going to..." Seth's eyes widened a little in alarm and he made some gesture with his hand to something over my shoulder. It was only when I forced another laugh he seemed to understand my pathetic attempt humour. Still, he didn't laugh – I'd work on my material in the afterlife.

"Don't worry about it." With a shake of my head, I resigned myself to a stony silence and pressed my lips into a thin line. They were dry and sore, the least of my problems as I heard the gentle chatter of at two new voices at my back.

A man startlingly similar to Seth in appearance took a step towards him, dark brows raised in question. Side by side, it looked like the newcomer was a few inches taller, and his face was nowhere near as open and optimistic.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. What's up, pup?" added a girl with masses of curly bronze hair and skin so pale it was a wonder she still breathed. She slipped a dainty hand through the arm of the Seth doppelganger. "It didn't sound like anything went wrong."

Huh? I frowned and redirected my attention to the precision art of playing invisible. I thought I was doing a good job of it, too, until the girl turned to me. Her eyes locked on mine – much as I tried to avoid it – and she flashed me some small attempt at a smile. "This is her?"

"This is who?" I pressed my palms into the too-warm skin of my cheeks.

The girl hummed and extended a tiny hand to shake. "I'm Nessie, and this is Jacob."

I didn't say a word, didn't move to shake her hand, didn't even blink until my eyes started to sting from the effort. Things were taking a u-turn straight back to the valley of the weird and not-so-wonderful. The only upside was the lack of my mystery pains.

"Her name's Gene," Seth said, exchanging an odd look with Jacob. He shook his head seconds later in response to some unspoken question. A mind-reader would have had a blast with those guys, especially if they were into the 'mysterious, brooding silent conversations'. They didn't look the type, but, hey, who did?

It took all my effort to pull myself away from those thoughts and back into the present, even if I didn't necessarily want to be there. I shifted from one foot to the other under the analytical glare from Nessie, wishing again I had some kind of hood. Even a bag over my head would have been an improvement just then – they were making my skin crawl.

"You should tell her," Nessie said, and turned her back to me. "I think it's important."

"I know that," Seth replied. "Just don't wanna put any pressure on, you know?"

"Pressure?" I repeated, my voice meek as a cartoon mouse's. My heart sunk in my chest. "What pressure?"

"It's worth at least trying," Nessie continued as though I hadn't said a word. "You'll never know until you do."

"Sure, but-"

"Buts won't solve anything."

"Talk to her about it," Jacob said. "Do whatever you have to, kid, I'm sure it'll go fine. Just be honest."

As I listened to them talk about me – like I wasn't even _there –_ my head started to spin. Tendrils of anger hooked themselves around my conscious mind and squeezed until I had no choice but to erupt. "Stop it!" I screeched, clapping my hands over my ears to block out the sound of my own voice. "Just get away from me and shut the hell up!"


	4. Chapter 4

Almost as soon as the words had left my mouth I regretted them. The lapse in control and the feeling of questioning eyes on me sent blood rushing to my cheeks – I had to raise my hands to my face to cover it. God, I hated people.

"Okay then." Nessie frowned and took a careful step back, taking Jacob with her. Seth, on the other hand, only came a little closer. He really was an open book in that I could read every note of concern, of worry, when I peeked through the gaps between my fingers.

"Look," I said, surprised at how even I managed to keep my tone. "Could you not – could you not talk about me like I'm not here? I just... whatever." I dropped my hands once I was satisfied I could keep my expression blank and vocals under control. "Rain check on the walk or something."

There was another of those strange looks exchanged between Jacob and Seth before the latter stepped past me and looked over his shoulder. "Hey, I'll walk you home," he offered. "It's pretty easy to get lost around here sometimes."

I shrugged at him and followed – anything to get away from the prying eyes of Nessie, Jacob, and a few others who hung some ten metres away from us, watching. Whoever they were, they had no right to be so intrusive.

"Are meltdowns usually spectator sports?" I grumbled from my spot three steps behind Seth. My hands were jammed into my pockets and I made sure to keep my shoulders slightly hunched in as antisocial a gesture as I could manage. "Seems pretty rude to me."

Seth looked back at me and laughed a full, throaty laugh. "Not really," he explained. "They're just good friends of mine I was hanging around with. The beach is kinda our thing, y'know?"

"Sorry." I rolled my eyes. "Must have missed the sign."

"Didn't mean it like that," he said. "Just that we're down here a lot. It's better than being cooped up inside all the time."

"It's also freezing."

"You were down there."

"I like the cold," I told him, reaching up to swipe hair out of my eyes. The wind was really amping up, trying to test my mediocre skills as a hairstylist and then some. I made a mental note to invest in a good coat next time I had to shop – my parents' card would cover it. "Like you said, it's better than being cooped up."

Seth slowed down to match my pace, grinning in a show of white teeth and boyish enthusiasm. "Glad we agree," he said. "That's a step in the right direction."

"And which direction _is _the right one?" I asked before I could stop myself. Word vomit and paranoia would be my downfall. "And for that matter, what were they talking about back there?"

"It's, uh, it's really nothing." Seth dragged a hand through his hair, messing it up in the process. He sped up to avoid meeting my eyes. "Just talking about something I need to tell my mom. Uh, school stuff."

I slowed down to let him get a good distance ahead, watching the way his long arms swung by his sides when he walked. The trait was oddly endearing to me – he looked so young, open and harmless that even I couldn't stop myself wanting his company. I pinched the skin of my left wrist to snap myself out of those thoughts before they took me too far in a direction I wasn't willing to go so soon.

Seth, mercifully, seemed to understand my need for personal space enough that he kept ahead and didn't say anything until I addressed him directly. That or he was hiding something from me. I didn't have a right to question – I was a stranger to him and vice versa.

"Turn left here," I said. "This is my street."

"Where are you staying?" Seth asked politely. "Didn't know any places 'round here were up for sale. You look kinda young to own one – staying with family?"

I snorted back a short laugh. "That's bold," I said, shaking my head. "I have a house share with one of the residents, he was looking for help around the house. Probably likes the company, too. Mr. Aki."

Seth turned to face me, walking backwards with confidence only the endlessly optimistic could manage. Lucky for him, the pavement was clear of any major obstructions. "That guy?" He raised a dark brow. "Only seen him once – he doesn't go out much, huh?"

"We're a perfect match that way," I replied. "Easiest way to get away with doing nothing is to live with someone who does even less than you do."

"Perfect match." Seth looked worried for a brief moment, then laughed. "Isn't he pretty old?"

"Aren't you thirteen?" I rolled my eyes. "Old shouldn't be a factor in whether or not we're perfectly matched recluses."

"Actually I'm twenty-three," Seth boasted, puffing up his chest and tilting his chin skyward with pride. "Took me a long time to get those extra ten, but I made it!"

Even I couldn't help but chuckle at the enthusiasm – his blatant happiness was infectious. "Which makes you the old one here," I said once I'd managed to soothe myself back into a blank expression. "So criticising poor Mr. Aki is pretty rude of you, not to mention hypocritical."

"Aw, c'mon. He's no spring chicken."

"Spring chicken?" I wrinkled my nose, directing him with a wave of my hand towards Mr. Aki's place. "Now there's a dated expression if ever there was one. More proof of your being an old timer, really."

Seth pouted and again I began having doubts about him being even a minute older than I was. If he was as old as he said, he would be the envy of women everywhere the day he hit eighty and still looked thirty-five. "I'll walk you to your door," he offered and extended a long arm my way. I didn't take it, but consented to follow him silently instead.

It shouldn't have been awkward, but somehow it was. As comparisons went, the whole day was coming close to the level of discomfort of the first blind date my sister had ever set me up on. I was seventeen and the guy had looked at least twice that – he took me to some fancy restaurant where all he did was talk about himself and not-so-subtly criticise me. By the end of the evening we'd been stood on my doorstep stuck between a kiss and my clawing his eyes out. Thinking back on it, I wish I had gone with the latter. What an ass.

"Hey." Seth gently shook me, eyes locked on my own with the same peculiar look of shock mingled with wonder and worry he seemed to favour with me. Strangers weren't supposed to be so caring, nor were they supposed to make me feel so at ease. He was a mystery, all right, of the very best kind.

"You good?" he asked when I still didn't speak. "Looked a little faraway there."

"I'm fine," I assured, breathing through the urges that made my fingers tingle. I wondered what it would feel like to hold hands with the friendly giant, if his face was smooth as it looked, or if he'd mind my brushing away the sand that clung to the hair by his ears. "Completely fine."

How could I be so selfish?

"Well, uh..." Seth grinned at me, trying to find the right words to say what he wanted to.

Behind me, I heard the tell-tale sound bolts sliding and locks clicking open. It was perhaps the time limit which made me act without thinking about it – I launched myself forwards and tried to wrap my arms around his middle in a would-be bone crushing hug. It was hard to make my fingers touch, but I did my best when face with a mountain of disguised muscle which shifted to hold me, too. Another surprise.

He smelled like wood and smoke, I noticed, with the side of my face pressed to his torso. It wasn't wholly unpleasant, just... different. Seth was precisely the kind of man my mother loved to write about in her romance novels – it was exactly that thought which brought me to my senses. I pulled back quickly as the door creaked open behind me.

"I have to go," I babbled, refusing to meet his eyes as I turned on my heel and darted inside. Mr. Aki was almost knocked aside by my hurry, but I held his arm to keep his upright as I slammed the door shut. On went the bolts in seconds, blocking out all hope that Seth would be able to see me again.

Mr. Aki had backed up down the corridor until he was out of my reach, watching me through narrowed eyes. "What was that?" he asked, pointing with one shaking hand towards the door. He was trembling as if afraid, clearly fighting to keep himself composed. "Who was that?"

"Nobody," I said, wary of distressing the man further. "Just helped me find my way home. Why?"

"We shouldn't involve ourselves with them." Once Mr. Aki had taken several deep, slow breaths he walked past me to double check the locks. He lowered himself to peer through the eye hole once, twice, three times until he was completely satisfied. "It's dangerous."

"Who, Seth?" I scowled, defensive. Was I being Punk'd? "I only just met him and all, but he seems harmless. Better than harmless, actually. I think he's a good guy."

Mr. Aki shook his head and guided me through to the kitchen, waiting until I took a seat on one of the stiff wooden chairs before he'd say a word. I turned my head away to get a good look around the bare space – the only thing close to personal was a stack of note cards with numbers scrawled across them. Most were for emergency services, but one or two bore familial titles. From earlier snooping, I'd learned that Mr. Aki might even have a daughter.

"The natives are dangerous," Mr. Aki said.

"Aren't most people here born and bred?" I asked. "It isn't an idea holiday destination or anything, so I figure you don't get many newcomers."

He glared at me and turned to begin making tea – presumably the same bizarre kind he'd given me before, since the bags looked home-made. "They aren't ordinary," he said. "They attract things which are... which are... _dangerous._"

"Got it. Dangerous." I was doing my best to humour him, but with every word he said I believed him less and less. In the short time I'd known Seth, and even the strangers on the beach, I couldn't say they struck me as the _'_dangerous' type. Intimidating, maybe, but nothing more.

Geez, when did I get so sure?

I had to get my priorities straight before my move to La Push turned sour and I had to up and leave again. I wasn't there to make friends, I was there to escape. To hide.

"But, if you don't mind me asking, dangerous how?" I was watching Mr. Aki with utmost caution, waiting to see if he'd flip like I had on the beach. Maybe I was right, maybe we were perfect for each other. We could engrave our initials on our matching padlocks and everything.

Mr. Aki waved me off like I was no more than a pesky bee. He took his time pouring boiling water, stirring, watching his own reflection in the pinkish liquid for a while before he set a cup in front of me. "They change," he said. "To protect us, they say, but it's worse than that. They bring the bad here to us."

"The bad?"

"The cold, the bad. We aren't supposed to know, but I'm not blind." Mr. Aki took a seat opposite me, scrutinising my every action. "And they'll lure you in, too, with their witchcraft."

I stifled a sour laugh with a sip of too hot tea, burning my tongue in the process. "There's no such thing as witchcraft, sir. Not as far as I know."

"You don't know," Mr. Aki said. "That's why you were so careless."

"I'm not-"

"Be careful." He shook his head at me. "Stay inside if you have to – don't let them claim you, too."

"Claim me?" I could feel my jaw slacken in wonder, knowing how stupid I must have looked just then. It didn't matter – if he had something to tell me, I felt I had to be polite enough to listen. My curiosity helped things along a little. "What do you mean by that?"

Mr. Aki leaned across the table, his wrinkled hands stretching out to take mine. "I can see it's already happening," he muttered. "Be careful."


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a week since meeting Seth on the beach, a week since I'd found myself so inexplicably drawn to him, and I'd hidden away every minute of it. Mr. Aki had asked me once or twice to run some errands for him, tasks which I'd undertaken in my best disguise – hell, I invested in several new hooded sweatshirts to give myself a better chance of going unnoticed when I had to leave the house. It wasn't that I was scared. Scared didn't come close to the emotions I was feeling.

Sunday night, when Mr. Aki and I had finished a silent meal together in his kitchen, I found myself wanting to ask more about his 'dangerous' theory. He'd been careful to avoid it so far every time I tried to bring it up with him, but that was okay. Maybe he was just another crazy old man.

And maybe pigs could fly.

I wished I was naïve enough to think it was nothing – if it _was _nothing, how would I explain the pain in parting? The animal magnetism that drew me to a stranger I'd met in the woods? That made me want to run out in the middle of the night just to find him because I didn't feel _complete? _It would be a cold day in hell before all that could be attributed to me.

"Uh..." I cleared my throat as Mr. Aki stood to drop his dish in the sink. "I have a question I wanted to ask, and..."

Mr. Aki was shaking his head before I'd even finished my sentence, his mouth curled downward in displeasure. "No questions," he said. "It isn't safe to talk about it – they hear too well."

"I just-"

"I said no questions." Red faced, puffy-eyed, it was the closest to angry I had seen the old man since moving in. He gripped the edge of the sink so hard his knuckles turned white with the effort. Mr. Aki sucked in a long, sharp breath before he turned to me. "I have to leave town for a few days."

"Oh?" I did my best not to show my frown, chewing on my lip until I could taste blood. The prospect of being left alone after the cryptic warnings he'd given me was less than welcome in my already frazzled brain. It was hard to explain, but I enjoyed having Mr. Aki as my rock when things got bad, even if we barely said a word to each other.

Mr. Aki nodded slowly, knotting his wrinkled hands together over his stomach. "I have someone I must see," he explained. "It's urgent."

I nodded in faux understanding, suppressing the urge to question him about it. We were barely more than strangers – I hardly had the right to go delving into his personal life so soon. For all I knew, he could be headed off for breast implants and a fake ID. Admittedly, that _would _have interested me more than it should have.

Clearing my throat, I nodded again. "When should I expect you back? Just so I know to stay here, man the locks."

"I'll be gone for a week," he said. "With any luck, it should be less than that. I'll... I'll put in a call." Mr. Aki glared down at the floor beneath his slippered feet, angry with something I couldn't see there.

"Is there anything I should do while you're gone?" I asked, hoping to lighten the mood before I had a catatonic house mate on my hands. "Chores, errands, casual killing sprees."

His head snapped up and he narrowed his eyes in warning. "Nothing," he said tersely. "But it would be better if you stayed inside. Or -" he coughed "- took a trip yourself. To stay here alone is inadvisable."

"I'm a big girl, I can handle myself." It was my turn to get angry, though not at him. Mr. Aki's suggestion was ridiculous for two reasons. One, there was nothing in La Push I couldn't handle myself with a locked door, or one of the sharp kitchen knives if necessary; two, there was nobody I'd dream of leaving the reservation to see. I'd moved there in the first place to hide out from anything and everything I knew in the first place. The last thing I'd need was to turn up on my mother's doorstep after all that had happened between us – she'd throw me out without a second glance if she got the chance. Bad blood didn't quite cover it.

Holiday making was off the agenda, too. Money for me might not have been as much of a problem as it could have been for a teen going solo, but that didn't mean I was irresponsible enough to go and spend it on an African safari, or a Peruvian adventure. No, I'd sit and stay like a good girl waiting for Mr. Aki to return.

The thought that I might somehow run into Seth wasn't all off putting either. While my conversation with Mr. Aki about the danger of 'the natives' had been worrying, there was more than a slight chance I wanted to prove it wrong. My heart ached with the thought of spending even a second more with that brown-eyed boy.

Gods, I needed a reality check.

"...You understand?" Mr. Aki's voice drew me out of my trance, his face mere inches from mine. His brows were furrowed and his skin marred with a sickly pallor that aged him tenfold. "Yes?"

"Got it," I said. I didn't have the heart to ask him to repeat himself – figured it was the same as always. Stay inside, stay locked up, stay vigilant. Avoid anything I didn't trust absolutely and keep his number cards to hand no matter the situation. Simple. "I'll be fine here, promise. If you can manage then so can I."

He appeared doubtful, but nodded and backed away from me. Mr. Aki opened his mouth to say something more, then closed it quickly as if thinking better of the matter. He reached under the collar of his shirt and pulled up a crudely carved wooden figure hanging from old string. Up over his head it went until he set it down in front of me. "For protection," he said.

If his wooden bird would help me at all, I'd buy a hat and eat it. Of course, I wasn't going to say that to him – instead I forced a hard smile and curled my fingers around it. "Thank you," I said. "I really appreciate it." And I did. Whether I believed in what he was saying or not, it felt _good _to have somebody worry about me. Me. Of all people. Christmas had come early.

"Wear it," Mr. Aki told me, watching until I'd slipped the string over my neck and the bird hung between my breasts. "It helps with the nightmares, too."

"Nightmares? I don't have..." I stopped short and sighed. It wasn't worth the denial – since he'd heard my crying the day I arrived, I wasn't under any illusions that Mr. Aki was all ignorant to what I was going through. How much he knew, however, was debatable. "Thanks again, sir."

"Just be careful." Mr. Aki watched me for a long while – I had to lower my eyes when the prolonged contact made me flinch and fidget – but I noticed something odd about him then. He was giving me the exact same look I gave the mirror daily, when I saw those similarities between myself and _her._ It was like seeing the worst kind of ghost. I wanted to ask him about it, but personal experience prevented me from saying a single word.

Minutes later, Mr. Aki shuffled out of the kitchen. I thought, but wasn't sure, I heard him mutter, "Goodnight, Mai."

Mai? I frowned and brushed my fingers over the charm hanging from my neck. Something was most definitely going on with him. The average person didn't morph into a super-recluse over night – we all had our reasons, and I couldn't help but want to understand his. An idea popped into my head, one I wasn't entirely sure of, nor proud of myself for considering. Did it count as snooping if you asked near-strangers about somebody's personal life? The reservation felt close-knit enough that it would be hard for a person to keep a problem to themselves. Somebody had to know.

That settled it. I would find Seth, and I would ask him. Maybe he could shed some light on the dangerous thing, too.

The hefty thud of a suitcase being dragged down the staircase roused me the next morning. I was quick to tug a shirt and jeans on before darting out of my room to see if I could help somehow – hairbrushes be damned, it was only Mr. Aki.

Sure enough, I found him halfway down the stairs and struggling to breath as he leaned his weight against the bannister. There were bags beneath his eyes that told me he'd had trouble sleeping, and the way he was dressed was as if he'd walked into a closet in the dark. It didn't take a rocket science to tell that something was up.

"Here, let me give you a hand with that," I muttered, hopping down to take the suitcase from him. Despite our differences, my mother had raised me to at least try and be a well-mannered girl. I had to credit her that much.

Mr. Aki inclined his head in thanks, shuffling down the remainder of the stairs with one hand on the bannister and the other on the wall for balance. When he got to the bottom, he moved to stand by the heavily locked door and look up at me while I carried his things down for him.

"Are you going far?" I asked, more to make conversation than real will to pry. Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, I leaned his suitcase on the wall and wiped off my hands on my jeans – the handle had been sweaty where he'd gripped it. Another sure sign of nerves.

Mr. Aki rolled his shoulders back to ease the stiffness. "A friend is driving me," he said.

While it didn't answer my question, I nodded in acceptance. Since last night, the idea of finding out more about the man I was living with was beginning to become a kind of obsession. Having something to focus on made the residual pain of the photograph in my pocket much easier to ignore – I'd barely thought of her at all.

"You'll be back in a week," I said in an effort to reassure him. The lie that followed was simple as breathing for me – it worried me to think how easily I could falsify the world without batting an eyelid. "And I'll wait here – keep the doors locked, keep guard for you."

He nodded his thanks even as the 'beep!' of a car horn drew both our attentions to the door. Mr. Aki's frown deepened as he grappled for his suitcase, watching as I moved past him to unlock the door as quickly as I could. "Good luck," I told him. "And have a nice time."

To my surprise, Mr. Aki laughed. It was a short, bitter sound, but better than the silence I was expecting. His last words to me before departing were, "Be careful."

I nodded even though he could no longer see me, making a point of sliding every bolt, turning every key, until the house was in complete lock-down. Whether or not I had intentions to abandon it in a matter of minutes was beside the point – I intended to make good on my promise as long as I was actually in the house to do so.

Once I'd seen the car trundle away from me and the reservation, I let out a breath I didn't even know I'd been holding. It was a relief to think I no longer had to stay cooped up and pretend I liked it for an old man's sake – I was free as I should have been from the start. Any sane person would have probably turned down my accommodation with the troubles that came with it, but not me. Sanity aside, I think the rules were genuinely good for me.

That, however, didn't mean I wasn't going to break them.

First stop, follow the pulling sensation in both body and mind that I knew, just _knew, _was going to lead me to Seth. Whatever miraculous connection we had, I didn't feel like denying it just then.

For the first time in a very long time I found myself craving somebody's company. And it wasn't even hers. Progress.


	6. Chapter 6

The world outside was a blur of wind, rain, and people dashing to get indoors so that they could avoid the worst of the damage. I didn't know exactly where I was going just yet, but to be out there made me feel better already. Strange as it was, I could tell he was close.

I steeled myself against the cold and tugged up the hood of my jacket so that my hair could avoid the worst of the damage. It was going to need bleaching again if I wanted to keep dark roots at bay – it was important to stay blonde and as far away from familial similarities as I could.

Boot heels clicking against the wet pavement, I broke into a jog when the rain started to worsen. Cold droplets pounded my face, clung to my eyelashes, made seeing straight a real struggle. In the five seconds it took me to squeeze my eyes shut and brush away the irritating water, I ran head-first into something solid and impossibly warm. My heart beat faster in naïve anticipation.

Hands wrapped around my upper arms to keep me from hurtling back again, burning through the thick material of my jacket. "Hey," my saviour said. It was a voice I didn't recognise, deep and husky like a serial smoker's. "You're Gene?"

I pulled myself out of his grasp and hooked one finger into my hood to keep it from falling down when I tilted my head back to get a look at him. Broad shoulders, thickly muscled frame, and the same Quileute features I was just starting to get used to. He could easily have been related to Seth, Quil, or Jacob. Perhaps all three. Mr. Aki, too, when I thought about it.

"I'm Gene," I said, forcing myself to ignore the water spilling over my cheeks and clinging to the end of my nose. Gods, he was _huge_. "Why?"

The man cleared his throat, a short, nervous smile curling up the corners of his thin lips. He appeared no more comfortable with the interaction than I felt, which was reassuring in part. "Someone's been looking for you."

"Oh?"

He nodded and the smile dropped as he began to watch me, waiting. It took me a minute to figure out that I was supposed to speak first – whether he wanted me to freak out, ask questions, or have a parade, I couldn't discern. In the end, I settled for the blank curiosity I knew so well. "Who?"

"Seth Clearwater."

Clearwater? I tilted my head to the right, thinking. Why the last name should matter, I couldn't fathom, but there was something about it I found myself liking almost instantly. I think it was the calm implication.

"Right," I said. "Can I ask why I'm being summoned, or is that a case of if-I-told-you-I'd-have-to-kill-you? If it's the latter, I think I'll just head back home."

"Nothing like that." The awkward man chuckled, throaty and sharp. His expression shifted from lightly uncomfortable to deadly serious in a matter of seconds – furrowed brows, pursed mouth, piercing eyes. They weren't as pretty a brown as Seth's, not nearly as warm and welcoming.

Crap, I had to stop thinking like that. And fast.

"... Better if we let him explain," the man was saying. "It's not my right to."

"So why are you here?" I asked, cocking a plucked brow. "Unless there's a law about chaperones in these parts I don't know about yet."

He shrugged his huge shoulders and took a step away from me. His hands by his sides were twitching, reaching out for something that wasn't there. I found myself oddly sympathetic as I shoved my own hands into my pockets to keep them still.

"I had an errand to run," he said. As if only then remembering his manners, the stranger deigned to introduce himself to me as, "Sam."

Nothing more, nothing less. I admired the simplicity.

"Well, Sam," I said. "It's just your luck that I was going looking for him anyway. You can stash the rope and call off the kidnapping now." Not for the first time, my humour went unappreciated. I scowled into the collar of my jacket. The rain worsened. "Lead the way, else we'll both catch cold just standing here."

Sam nodded at me, glanced off into the distance over my shoulder, and turned the opposite direction. Aside from a telling inclination of his head, the man gave no instruction that I was to follow. Lucky for him I had an eye for subtle gestures.

We walked mostly in silence, with Sam only stopping once or twice to tell me to mind my footing as we strayed from the pavement. He led me a long way from the places I'd already had the time to explore, further into the trees than I would have dared go for fear of getting lost. It was only when a few houses started to come into view that Sam slowed down to match my meandering pace.

I avoided meeting his eyes, focusing solely on the tiny house we seemed to be headed towards. Even from a fair distance, it was impossible to miss the loud, boisterous chants and jeers from within. I sighed. All I wanted was to talk with Seth, ask him what was going on, what he knew about Mr. Aki. Was that so hard?

"Don't tell me, I've been invited to some secret club as the ritual sacrifice," I muttered. Sam didn't respond, so I kept up a steady stream of paranoia to try and quell my nerves when facing the unknown. "You'll give me weird robes, mysterious wine, then it's up to the alter. Dagger in the gut and that's all she wrote."

The door opened before Sam's fingers even brushed the handle, and a woman practically leapt on him. From what I could see she was dark, pretty, and there was something odd about her face. I was glad when her head buried into Sam's shoulder prevented me from staring – as much as I hated to be rude, there were some impulses it was near impossible to suppress.

Watching them in silence, I got the same feeling I had seeing my sister and her long-term boyfriend for the first time. It was that odd, butterflies-in-stomach, clammy palms kind of feeling that I had grown to associate with a perfect match. I'd always had an affinity for that kind of thing – spotting two people and just _knowing _they were supposed to be together. In an ideal world, I could make a career out of it. Hell, it was my plan all through high school to do so.

Things just didn't turn out how I wanted them to. Pity.

The woman released her hold on Sam and turned to me, extending a hand and a lopsided smile in greeting. There were distinct scars all down one side of her face – strange, but I had no business asking about them, so I reverted to my defensive ground-staring. While it may have made me look bizarre, it was a solid escape route for awkward situations.

"You must be Gene," she said, her smile widening.

Geez, was I some kind of celebrity all the sudden? It was easily the most popular I'd ever been. I peered up at her through my damp lashes, resigning myself to shake her hand as polite as I could – Sam was staring, I felt pressured to at least _try._ "That's me," I said, "and you are?"

"Emily." She dropped my hand and gestured to the open door. I could see a few figures lingering in the corridor, presumably to catch the show. "Come inside, they're all waiting to meet you."

I felt uncomfortable heat rise to my cheeks and shook my head. Even the thought of meeting an 'all' make bile rise in my throat – I was not a people person. "I think there's been some kind of mistake," I said. "Sorry about that, but..."

"Is this the imprint?" a boy's voice asked, followed by a particularly bouncy entry into my line of sight. He had the same dark, cropped hair and russet skin as the others I'd met, but was considerably smaller and younger in appearance. I guessed he must have been somewhere in his teens – no older than I was, for sure. It wasn't, however, his appearance which caught my attention.

"Imprint?"

Sam wheeled to face him even as Emily stepped to my side, placing a hand on my arm. She guided me back a few steps, mumbling something I didn't quite catch.

"Watch what you say, Collin," Sam said under his breath. While he looked the epitome of calm, there was something authoritative and dark underlying. Just a year ago he would have frightened the death out of me right then. How fortunate that I grew up.

"Huh?" The boy, Collin, frowned. "What'd I do?"

"She doesn't know," Sam replied, looking back at me.

I curled my hands into fists to stop them from trembling any more than they had to. There was a tingling feeling down my spine that made me feel dizzier than all the unwanted attention I was being given. It was a relief when I heard a familiar voice – the one I'd been searching for in the first place.

"Hey." Seth jogged to my side. Emily took it as her cue to leave, wandering back to where Sam was having a quiet word with Collin. I shook my head until the hood slid back down to my shoulders, focusing on the matter at hand.

"I wanted to talk to you," I said, peering up at Seth, who grinned like I was Christmas come early. "But I get the feeling there's a more pressing issue here."

Seth's grin faltered for a fraction of a second. "What's that?"

"Why don't you tell me." I folded my arms across my chest, trying hard to look menacing. "Seems like there's more going on here than I know. You don't summon a complete stranger for no reason at all."

"You aren't a _complete _stranger," Seth said, teasing in his tone. "We've met twice before now, and third time's the charm." He nudged me with his elbow. "I just figured 'hey, she looks cool, maybe she wants to hang out.'"

I snorted laughter, resisting the urge to stick out my tongue. There was just something about him that made me almost want to be silly, play like a kid again. Refreshing, really, but that didn't stop me ignoring it. "So you sent your bodyguard to come get me?"

"Sam isn't a bodyguard." Seth snickered and flexed a muscular arm. Damn, he was in shape. "Do I look like I need one of those."

I shrugged. "Maybe. It'd probably help prevent all the restraining orders people must file against you. Stalking isn't, and never will be, anything close to cool."

"You sound like one of those 'Just Say No' campaigns," Seth said. "That's cool."

"That's not my point." I cleared my throat and looked in the opposite direction so that I couldn't get carried away. Staring at him was fast becoming a problem, one I'd have to solve sooner rather than later. "There's a lot I want to know."

"Shoot."

I glanced over at the open doorway. Sam, Emily, and Collin had disappeared inside to give the two of us some kind of privacy, though I doubted we were anywhere close to out of earshot. At least that way they'd be eavesdropping more discretely.

"That guy, uh... Collin..." I cleared my throat to try and un-lodge the question from it. Why was it so hard to ask all of a sudden? My palms were beginning to sweat and my breathing quickened in sickening anticipation. "He said, uh, he asked if I was 'the imprint.'"

Seth's face fell as soon as I'd said it. He clutched as his chest through his shirt as if a shot had been fired. This time it was his turn to dodge eye contact and play shy. "About that..."

"Go on." I caught my lower lip between my teeth, irritating a cut from consistent chewing over the last week or so. "I'm listening."

Seth sucked in a deep breath and watched me for the longest time. "There's something I need to show you first."


	7. Chapter 7

"What could you need to show me out here?" I asked, frowning, as Seth led me back towards the trees Sam and I had come through. He was a little clumsy with his steps, shoulders hunched in a defensive gesture which I couldn't quite see through. Something was definitely going on, and I wasn't sure if I was going to like knowing exactly what that was. If only ignorance really was bliss.

Seth looked back over his shoulder at me, worry pinching his expression. "It'll be okay," he assured, apparently misreading my confusion as fright. He seemed to think a minute before he turned fully to face me, offering out one large hand.

I shook my head – whatever I may or may not have been feeling towards him, I had to remind myself that Seth was a stranger, and that I didn't know him at all. I couldn't be that forward with him. "You go on ahead," I said. "I'll try to keep up."

The corners of his mouth twitched down, but Seth nodded his understanding. "When, uh... Actually." He stopped again. "Could you wait here? I won't be a sec."

"Sure." I froze in place, keeping my head down so I wouldn't have to see the way he was looking at me. "Just hurry up. It's cold."

Seth was laughing as he walked away, big feet crushing twigs and branches beneath them until finally he was out of my earshot. Wherever he'd gone, he must have gotten there fast. I was reminded of the chase he and Quil had given on my first night in La Push – gods, those boys must have been on some good steroids.

I took a deep breath when I was sure nobody could hear me, taking a look up at the sullen grey sky. If nothing else, the rain had stopped for a little while. Why wasn't that as reassuring as it should have be? I rolled my shoulders back and made a mental note to stop being so stupid – the weather shouldn't matter. After all, I was waiting on some big reveal far more interesting than a few clouds and cold winds.

Pivoting on my right foot, I saw nothing out of the ordinary. Hell, I saw nothing at all. The only peculiarity I noticed was a smell like wet fur, only a thousand times stronger than anything I had ever encountered. The weirdest thing was how it made my fingers twitch and tingle, set my heart beating that little bit faster. Had Seth brought me into the middle of the woods to show me his dog? I hoped not.

"Hello?" I called, listening to my voice as it came back to me twice, maybe three times, before it faded into nothing. "Uh... Seth?"

Something snorted, a great, wet sound, and I almost jumped out of my skin. _Be cool, Gene, there's bound to be a few squirrels somewhere around here. _But just as I started to work on my calm, I heard it. A whimper, not unlike that of a dog, and it was directly behind me. I turned to face it out of fear of the unknown.

It was tall for a wolf – not that I had much experience beyond the internet to go by – with paws that looked a little too large for how lean the beast was. He – I guessed – was coloured a warm, sandy brown that reminded me of summer on the beach, and there was a patch around his long nose almost entirely white. While the beast's body may have caught my attention, what held it were the eyes. They were warm, wide, and the same brown I'd found myself secretly wishing I had more time to look into. They were _his._

The creature stalked slowly towards me, his head dipped in shyness.

I should have been scared. Oh, gods, why wasn't I scared? All I could feel was a desire to reach out, to run my hands through that fur and see how wiry it felt under my fingers. And he was getting closer by the second, almost within touching distance.

"Hey," I muttered, abandoning all reasoning to crouch on the wet ground. The same time my knees touched damp leaves, his head brushed against my open palm – the wolf's fur was softer than I'd thought it would be, the same as a dog I remembered from my childhood. Before I knew it, I was running both hands over the wolf's head and neck.

Those big brown eyes were locked onto my face, unflinching as I tried my best not to look back. I think it was denial setting in – if I didn't see them again, didn't associate those with him, I wouldn't have to believe the impossible.

I felt rather than saw the wolf move, his head twitching out of reach of my hand, soon to be followed by the light tread of paws on leaves as we were joined by another. The second wolf was a great deal more intimidating to me, but still I couldn't feel fear. My calm was unnerving.

Our newest arrival was bigger still than the sandy wolf, darker in colour and considerably less lanky. I was about to extend my hand in greeting to him, to test whether or not it was another friend, when I noticed something in the corner of my vision – it wasn't alone.

A slim, very pale, somebody took slow steps towards us. Her bronze curls were tied in an elegant knot at the back of her head and she wore a close-fitted green dress about as inappropriate for the weather as anything could be. It took me a second to recognise her as Nessie, the girl from the beach. Did that mean...?

I inclined my head in the direction of the second wolf, locking onto his eyes to confirm my suspicions. Those looked like Jacob's eyes – not that I had much time to compare. Just as realisation set in, my head started to spin and my vision blurred. I pushed myself to my feet to walk away from it all and try and rejoin with what was left of my sanity. The ground seemed to slip out from under me.

That was when I fainted.

"Hey, I think she's waking up."

I groaned and clutched at my head, doing my best to ignore the steady thud of a growing headache. Beneath me was somebody's stiff mattress, topped with a crocheted blanket that made my skin itch wherever it touched – somebody must have moved me. I sat up and forced my eyes open. "What happened?"

Seth was standing in the doorway and the kindly woman who had jumped Sam – Emily? - perched on the edge of the bed. She was holding a glass of water out to me, which I took with a grateful nod. "Don't you remember?" she asked, the unmarked side of her mouth twisting down to imitate her scarring.

As I took several great sips of the lukewarm water, it all came flooding back to me. "In the trees... Those, uh, those things..."

Emily shot a questioning look to Seth in the doorway, who wore a mask of guilt that tugged painfully at my heart. He nodded, albeit reluctantly, and waved me a brief goodbye before he trudged out into the corridor.

"Don't freak out, okay?" Emily forced herself to smile at me, patting my arm. "We're all a little shocked at first."

"Shocked?" I snorted so hard water came dribbling out of my nose, which I was quick to wipe away as embarrassment set in. Blood rushed to my cheeks and I dipped my head lest it happen again. "I don't think shocked is the word for it."

"What did you see?" Emily asked. She was the epitome of calm, just as easy to open up to as Seth – strangely enough, I found myself thinking she was the kind of woman I should have had for a mother. If she never had children, it would be an awful shame.

"I know what I think I saw," I told her. "But that's impossible."

She nodded in understanding. "And what was that?"

"Wolves," I said. "Two of them, only... Only there was something odd about them. Something human." I cleared my throat, looking up to see that Emily was watching me in earnest. She didn't appear at all as somebody listening to the inner thoughts of a madwoman – a small mercy I was instantly thankful for. "It was the eyes."

"Familiar, weren't they?" Emily guessed. "You've seen them before. You know them."

"That's what I thought." I nodded. "But then... The girl from the beach, uh, Nessie, she said her name was. She was there too, with one of those creatures, but that's not possible, is it?"

I watched Emily carefully, waiting to hear that I'd had some kind of schizophrenic break. Any explanation would do – I didn't think I'd mind if they shipped me off to some loony bin. Anything would be better than the way I was living at present.

Emily cleared her throat and smoothed out the fabric of her skirt over her knees. "That's the thing, Gene – nothing is impossible."

"Huh?" My jaw slackened and I was sure I must have been giving her the stare of somebody so sedated they didn't know their own name any more. Why wasn't I getting angry? It felt like I should have been, like a normal person would have. "I don't know what you're saying."

"What if what you think you saw _is _what you saw?" Emily was careful to keep up a smile as she took the emptied glass from me. Every gesture, every word, had a practised feel to it – it was like she'd done this before. Strange.

"There's a reason they call it impossible," I said. "Wolves can't... they can't have people's eyes. We're not that closely related, unless you're trying to tell me this place is inhabited by dog people. Does everyone have one in the family? Must save a bunch on buying pets, I guess, unless they're some weird genetic experiment. Is that what it is? Gene splicing to give wild animals people's eyes?"

"Take a deep breath, Gene," Emily instructed. It was only then I realised I was panicking, that I was gasping. My hands flew to my throat and I tried desperately to calm down. It wasn't working – gods, why wasn't it working?

Emily's mouth pressed into a thin line and she rose from her perch. There was a look in her eye like she'd seen it all before. "Seth," she called, just loud enough for her voice to penetrate the sounds of my failing breath. "Get in here."

He didn't need telling twice.

Within seconds Seth was by my side, one large hand splayed out on my back as he looked into my face. "Hey," he whispered. "Hey, calm down. You're okay here."

I don't know why, but I believed him. It was like a cord was loosening around my throat and suddenly I could breathe again – it hurt, but I could cope with the sting in exchange for precious oxygen. "What..." I wheezed. "What's going on?"

"Nothing that you're uncomfortable with," Seth replied, pulling his hand back as soon as he judged me healthy enough.

I watched him drop his arms back to his sides, more than a little sad for the loss of contact. Whatever was getting into me, it was hard to fight those urges. Hell, I didn't even know if I wanted to fight them. He just seemed so _genuine. _I wanted that. "Whether I'm comfortable with it or not," I said. "I think it's best that you tell me all about it."

"You're sure?" Seth looked doubtful, his customary grin turned down into a frown that aged him. "I mean, uh, I can walk you home if you want. Talk about this another time?"

I almost laughed at how quickly the tables had turned – it made me feel better to know I wasn't the only one panicking. "Sit down."

He glanced around the room for a chair and, before I could stop myself, I shuffled along the bed until my side hit the wall and patted the empty space beside me. "Just here," I said, "I know how to share."

Seth chuckled and took the space gladly, his smile back and bright as a kid's at Christmas. Against my side, he was impossibly warm. "Where do I start?"

"Start with what you were doing in those woods, please."


	8. Chapter 8

"Right. That's where the trees are." Seth gulped loudly, messing his hair with one large hand to buy himself time before he had to say a single thing more. Wherever our bodies were touching, I felt warm, dizzying tingles work their way into my middle. I wondered briefly if Seth felt the same – if he did, he was skilled enough to hide it from me.

I nodded and settled my hands in my lap, staring down at the stark difference between the white of them and my dark, dirty jeans. "Correct," I said, "but what were you doing there?"

"When?" Seth asked. "When we first met, or...?"

"Pick a time," I told him. "I want to know about it all, don't spare me a single detail."

He laughed and twisted his head to face me. "You're not going to freak out on me again, are you?"

I nudged the mattress with my foot. "If I faint, you're covered. Now go."

"Well, uh, heh." Seth fidgeted in his spot, jostling me against the wall in the process. "Do you believe that, uh, for every one person there's only one exact match? Like, the perfect partner for them. Like cookies and cream, or peanut butter and jelly."

My hand flew to my mouth to keep giggles from surfacing and I nodded solemnly once the urge had passed. What an odd way to begin an explanation. "You mean like soul mates."

"Yeah!" He grinned. "That's what I meant. Well, some of us are... we're, uh, we're different. Like, uh..."

I sighed and tilted my head back against the wall, feeling more than a little bad for the way he seemed to bumble over what he was trying to say. If that was my fault, I'd make sure to apologise for it later. Or maybe not. "If it helps," I said, "you can keep up with a metaphor or something. I think I'm smart enough to figure it out."

"Thanks." Seth looked doubtful, but relieved all the same. "Beauty and the Beast okay for you?"

I arched a brow at him, my mouth twitching up into an unwilling smile. "You're going to use Disney?"

"Quil keeps making us watch it for Claire's sake, it's her favourite movie." Seth shrugged.

"Well, be my guest."

"Clever." Seth laughed and hooked his long fingers together over his stomach, watching his shoes as he thought through his explanation a little more. "Well, the beast was cursed, right? Same as all those weird little clock people and the candelabra and stuff. Think of us like that."

"Who's us?"

"Us guys," Seth said. "Me, Jake, Sam, Quil... You get what I mean."

"Not really." I shook my head, confusion already beginning to probe at my understanding. "But go on – I'll catch up."

"So the enchanted objects are all under this spell, and it's in the family," he said. "Something about being connected to certain people like they were the beast, that's what causes it. Then they're all sort of bound to their reservation – uh, castle. They stick to the castle like the protectors and stuff, making sure the village and everything is okay. It's pretty much their job to get rid of baddies like Gaston." Seth paused, looking over at me to make sure I was still on board.

I nodded, though in truth I wasn't any closer to figuring out what was going on than I had be the day I'd first run into him. The castle was the reservation, so that meant Seth and his friends considered themselves the protectors, but what then? What was he getting at with the spell 'in the family?' How he'd explain that one, I'd love to know.

Seth frowned when he caught me doing the same, and nudged my arm with his elbow. "If you want me to stop, just say so. I could ask Emily to..."

"No." I shook my head. "I don't know why, and damned if I'm not freaked, but I want you here. If you could shed some light on all this weird, I'd be eternally grateful."

The way his face lit up made my heart swell with some warm emotion I hadn't felt in years. "Cool," Seth said, trying to play it cool with a shrug of his broad shoulders. "So the magic toothbrushes and stuff, they're under the spell. Only this spell can't ever completely go away like the one in the movie. Uh, maybe this wasn't the best comparison."

"It's fine. Just get to it." So much for warm and fuzzy feelings – impatience was first and foremost just then. "What is this spell?"

"Kinda like the one the beast was under," Seth said. "But totally different, too. It's like, uh, like this spell is there to help him know when he falls in love. Sorta. He's got this thing, where if he sees just the right one, he knows. He can feel everything changing, and then all that matters to him is her. Whether she knows it or not, she's his everything from the second he sees her."

I could feel traitorous heat rising to my cheeks, so I ducked into the collar of my shirt to keep it to myself. Gods, I had to get a hold of myself before I booked a one way ticket to the nearest loony bin. It didn't even make _sense. _Beauty and the god-damn Beast.

"So she belongs to him?" I asked, taking slow breaths to mask the swell of foreign emotions in my chest. "Like his squeaky toy?"

Seth was quick to shake his head. "It's not like that." He coughed. "Think of it like the movie – he might love her, but it's still up to him to win her over. There's just this connection between them, and it's kinda different for all of the magic clocks and stuff when they find theirs, but the same, too. They all have the one, a soul mate."

"What happens then?"

"After that? I guess he hopes she'll understand him. If she does, it's up to him to make sure she's safe forever, and that she understands everything that's going on."

I swallowed back my fears and said, "She has to understand that he turns into a wolf for kicks."

Seth's eyes widened first with alarm, then surprise. He started to chuckle, and it didn't take long for me to join him. Soon enough we were leaning on each other and laughing until it made our sides hurt over nothing at all. Probably hysteria.

It was Seth who managed to calm down enough to speak first. "Does she understand?"

"I think she needs to know more before she can make a decision. It's tricky running into a talking candelabra, after all." I shimmied as far as I could from Seth, grateful when he moved over enough that we were no longer touching. Even in the second we parted, my head cleared considerably and I was finally able to think.

If he was telling the truth and there was some kind of spell over the otherwise quiet La Push reservation, then maybe Mr. Aki wasn't crazy. Maybe he knew exactly what he was trying to hide away from – but those wolves didn't look dangerous. If they _were _people, what was the problem? A bloodthirsty beast wouldn't have let me touch it without wanting a taste of my flesh.

That wasn't even the worst of my problems. Was Seth really suggesting we were _soul mates? _That we were somehow destined for each other? Maybe I felt it, too, maybe I was trying to keep that to myself. And maybe if I was anything close to smart I'd flee La Push the first chance I got. So much for moving to a quiet town to mourn in peace.

It was only when I realised Seth watched me intently that I managed to snap out of those thoughts and abandoned the virtual passport. Running off to Peru to herd goats could wait.

"So." I cleared my throat. "What does the candelabra have to say about its miraculous transformation?"

"The candles can learn to control the changes," Seth said, nerves clear in the way his brows had knitted together and colour drained from his cheeks. "Or they can try. It's hardest when they're really stressed, or angry, or their imprints – uh, soul mates – are in some kind of danger. They sorta, they don't age when they're under the worst of it. It takes time for them to manage to grow up physically."

"Guess it helps that they're already so big," I muttered. "When does this mystical witch come and put the spell on them? How does she choose who her targets are? Does she pick the awful people? The criminals?"

"She follows these bloodlines," Seth said. "That's all. And there are these... über-Gaston types who can set them off just by showing up. They're mortal enemies, the beasts and the Gastons, but in some rare cases they can make pacts and stuff to keep it peaceful. It's complicated."

I nodded my agreement and let out a long, low whistle. "That would've been one hell of a Disney movie."

"But cool though, right?" Seth grinned over at me, keeping a careful eye on the parts of my face not covered by fabric. He waited until I'd nodded again to ask, "Does that make any sense?"

My hands curled into fists until the already torn skin of my palms was irritated by my long nails. "If I say it does, am I crazy?"

Seth's expression switched from playful to worried in three seconds flat. He hesitated, but when I didn't give any signal that he should back away, draped one long arm over my shoulders. "If you're crazy, then so are the rest of us."

"Everyone here?" I asked. I wasn't frightened of the truth, just shocked I hadn't figured it out myself. More shocked still that I could comprehend it so easily.

"Just about," Seth said. "Sam and Emily, Nessie and Jake, Jared and Kim, Quil and Claire, Paul and Rachel... They're all paired up thanks to imprinting. The rest of us, we just have to wait until it happens, or move on and be happy with someone else. Only problem is, if you settle down with somebody, fall in love, and then spot _the _girl, everything's messed up. You want to be with her, as much as it would break your partner's heart."

I squeezed my eyes shut against the increasing throb of my headache. That was a lot to take in on one day, but I knew I wasn't finished yet. There was one big question left on my mind that refused to make it's way out into the open for fear of the answer. While Seth had made it clear enough, I had to say it. He had to say it. I needed to know for sure.

"Seth," I began, cautious as I slipped out from under his arm. I clambered over him so that I could stand a good distance away. The last thing I wanted was for him to cloud my judgement by being too close – with that in mind, I closed my eyes again to avoid so much as looking at him. "I have one more question."

"Yeah?" His voice cracked and faltered just then, and I knew he knew what I was going to say even before I could gather the courage to do it. A small comfort, if anything.

"Me and you... We're..." I shifted from side to side, willing the words to come out when they lodged in my throat. I had to settle for his way of coping, shifting the stress into a comical metaphor. "Peanut butter and jelly?"

A long silence fell then, and just as I had opened my eyes to make sure Seth hadn't crept out the window to avoid me, he forced himself to answer.

"Yes, Gene, we're green eggs and ham." Seth had twisted himself so I could see no more than his broad back and the hunch of his shoulders as he leaned forward into his own lap. That didn't stop me from hearing the raw emotion in his voice. "I'm sorry."


	9. Chapter 9

**AN - So I keep forgetting to do one of these, oops. I don't own anything here you recognise, especially not dear Seth or any of the thousands of references he and Gene use, though I dang well wish I did. Just wanted to put out thanks for all the support I've been getting for this, and apologies for the delay in uploading - I've been sick to the point of illiteracy. Anywho, enjoy!**

* * *

Oh crap. Was he crying? In nineteen years I'd never really seen a man cry, never had to deal with that. Not even my dad after we lost... I shook my head against those painful thoughts before they could take hold. It was pure instinct that had me take a few steps closer to where Seth sat – I was glad not to be able to hear a single sob.

"Why are you sorry?" I asked lamely, wringing my hands together in the fabric of my shirt. Only because I thought it might help did I try to inject some light humour into my voice – it had been a long time since I'd actively tried to make anyone laugh. "Is it because you do not like green eggs and ham, you do not like them, Sam you am? Gods, that was terrible."

Seth laughed, albeit a hard, alien sound. It worked. "It was pretty bad," he admitted, his voice low and shaky. "At least you stopped there."

"Oh, you wanted to hear the whole speech?" I snorted. "Fine." I cleared my throat, closing my eyes so that I could imagine myself in another place, another time where it would be completely normal to do what I was doing. "I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them, Sam-I-am."

"Would you like them in a house?" Seth asked, and I could hear a smile in that. "Would you like them with a mouse?"

"I do not like them in a house. I do not like them in a mouse. I do not like them here or there. I do not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them, Sam-I-am." I had to stop twice to keep myself from laughing at how ridiculous it all was, but I got through it. Hell, I even bowed out of sheer childish pride that I could remember so much of that stupid rhyme. "Now, as much as I'd love to keep on with this clever kid thing we have going, I think there's more to it than that. I don't seem to remember anybody apologising for green eggs and ham, so why'd you do it?"

Seth shrugged and kept his back to me, though I could see his legs twitch as though he wanted to get up but wouldn't allow himself to do so. "Just..." He sighed. "I know it's a lot, and it's hard to take in, and, uh... Yeah. It's not your fault, it's all mine."

"What's your fault?"

"The imprint."

I bit my lip to keep from agreeing with him. Much as I was bewildered, distressed, and maybe even a little upset, I couldn't bring myself to make things worse on him. It was all I could do to be honest as kindly as I knew how. "You can apologise all you want when there's something here to apologise about," I said. "Until then, keep it to yourself."

"So you're saying..." Seth laughed once and finally turned to face me. His eyes were red-tinged and glassy, but other than that he looked as content and carefree as I'd seen him. "Actually, I don't know what you're saying."

"I'm saying wait and see." I shrugged, taking another step back. "There's a lot to be said in the test of time and, shit, I can't just turn it down without testing the water. That's no guarantee I agree with this 'soul mate' stuff or even believe it, just a maybe. You have my maybe."

"I'll put it with all the others for safe-keeping, milady." Seth dropped to one knee on the floor, holding a hand to his heart. "You have a knight's word on it."

"First you're a beast, then an enchanted toothbrush, and now a knight?" My brows shot up towards my hairline. "What's next, the kitchen sink? I'd be interested to see that transformation if you could manage it."

Seth grinned at me, shaking off the last of his apparent guilt and sadness. "I'll work on it for you. Sure something'll happen if I stick at it long enough – any colour preference?"

"Pink," I said, sarcasm dripping like a tap. "To match my dream kitchen."

He laughed. "Pink's your colour, huh? I wouldn't have guessed."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You just don't look very pink is all," Seth said. "If I had to guess just on sight I'd say green. The pale one everyone says is blue when it's clearly green."

"Right." I shook my head, careful not to betray my teasing with a smile. "So you're colour-blind and I'm 'green'. What a great match."

"The Wicked Witch of the West was green, wasn't she?" Seth said. "That's got to count for something."

"Mm." I rolled my eyes. "I'm a witch, that's super reassuring."

"Well at least I know something about you now." Seth smiled at me and took a step closer. He reached out with one big hand and ruffled my damp hair before I could step out of his way. "It's progress."

I forced myself to scowl and smooth down my messy hair as best I could. It was getting too long for me to manage it with minimal effort – I dreaded the day I'd have to be one of those girls who laboured over straighteners and products just to look okay enough to face the world. Heavens help me if I ever turned into my sister.

"You okay?" Seth asked, dropping his hand back to his side sheepishly.

"Fine." I let out a slow breath to bring myself back to the indifferent mask I favoured, hand dipping into my pocket to clutch at the picture which brought me some comfort. "There aren't any more big revelations left for me today, right? I don't think I could handle another one of those."

"You're all good," Seth said. "But if there's anything else you want to know, just ask."

I thought a second, braving the madness of my own thoughts to find the one most pressing thing. "Where's the bathroom?"

Seth howled with laughter I didn't understand – it wasn't a funny request by anyone's standards. He leaned over me and pulled the door open, sticking his head out and looking to the right. "The door over there," he said, pointing, "with the blue handle."

"Thanks." I stepped past him as quickly as I could. I made it to the door in seconds, shoving it open with perhaps a little too much enthusiasm.

"I'll meet you downstairs!" Seth called behind me, his voice shut off as I pushed the door to a close and leaned heavily against it. The more distance I put between us, the better I could think my way through all the weirdness of La Push. Admittedly I felt a lot less at ease without him around, but I refused to become some codependent leech – it didn't even matter that it made my heart ache with every step away.

I closed my eyes for just long enough to hear footsteps thudding down a wooden staircase. When I opened them again, I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the tiny bathroom was; a pristinely white bathtub was pressed up against one wall; mirror, sink, and toilet against the other. They even had a small medicine cabinet which I didn't hesitate to open.

Sleeping pills, antacids, and painkillers dominated the dusty space – I took two of the latter after a quick check of the label. Whoever owned them wouldn't miss a single dose, I reasoned as I swallowed them dry. They hurt going down, but I was willing to suffer the discomfort for a little relief from my Seth-related aching. Whatever he was doing to me was far more real than any Disney enchantment.

Did I believe him? _Could _I believe him? It felt somehow right to think of the sleepy reservation in terms of beasts, a Gaston or two, and talking teapots – but that was insane, wasn't it? Even meeting some of my mother's most inventive friends who wrote those kinds of things for a living, I'd never believed in monsters. I didn't believe in true love and soul mates when it came to me – I was going to be the matchmaker, a real world cupid, not the victim of some unbelievable spell.

But I felt it.

I could feel a warmth in my heart, electric chemistry tingle wherever he touched me, and, best of all, an intoxicating sense of safety when our eyes met. Gods, I wanted it to be true. I wanted Seth to be mine; to be able to go on silly dates' spend time worrying about whether my shoes matched my dress; and stay up all night just talking.

But if she couldn't do it, why should I?

Carrying a picture in my pocket instead of having her to talk to, to confide in, was all the reason in the world to say no. I'd be all kinds of guilty if I allowed myself the pleasure of real love when it was my fault she couldn't have hers. We were supposed to be doing it together, comparing rings and playing bridesmaid for each other when the day came.

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts and I backed into the wall opposite, hands shaking by my sides. I was quick to kick the medicine cabinet shut so as not to draw suspicion. "Uh, it's occupied?"

"I know that," came Nessie's impossibly clear voice from the other side. She sounded like bells twinkling in the wind on a cold winter's day. "I'm just checking to make sure you're okay."

"Is there a reason I shouldn't be?"

Nessie laughed. "There's always that risk, given what you've just been told."

I opened my mouth to reply but shut it just as fast once I remembered what Seth had said. Nessie was supposedly paired with the other wolf – one of the others? I didn't know just how many there were. She was Jacob's 'imprint.' "I'm good," I told her, turning the tap at the sink until cold water poured onto my hands. "Just cleaning up."

"Well, when you're done, would you like to come out with us?" she asked. "The boys are talking about taking a trip to First Beach. It's cold, but it'll be fun."

"I'm not sure if I should..."

Nessie was silent for a second, then she pushed the door open enough that I could see her roll her eyes. "Come on," she said. "The more time you spend around them, the better you'll be able to figure things out. I know it can be overwhelming at first, but it's important you take the time to test the water."

I shut off the tap and wiped my hands dry on my jeans. "How do you know I want to figure it out at all?"

"You're still here, aren't you?" Nessie pursed her pink mouth into a childish pout, tapping her foot to voice her frustration. "Some of the girls ditch completely at first, but you haven't, and that's a good thing. It means you're willing to give it a shot, and good for you. Seth's a great guy. You're lucky."

"I'd rather decide whether I'm lucky or not all on my own," I snapped, surprising even myself. One day it would be nice to know how I felt before I took it out on somebody else. "Same as I'd rather find the person I'm supposed to be with the normal way, through crappy dates and one night hookups."

"You're complaining because all that's been cut out for you?" Nessie was fighting a smile, her head propped against the door-frame. "That doesn't make much sense at all."

"Nor does any of this." I bit down on my tongue until it bled, counting back from ten in my mind. By the time I reached three, I knew what I had to do. "I'll come to the beach, but on one condition."

"Name it."

"If I don't like it, and if I choose to leave all this crazy, nobody comes after me."

Nessie gave a confident nod and stepped aside to usher me out of the bathroom. "Sounds good to me."


End file.
